Iran iraq

Iran relentlessly targets Kurdish opposition in northern Iraq despite regional ceasefire - analysis

The attacks illustrate how Iran is seeking to keep up the pressure on Kurdish opposition groups. Many of these groups have forces and bases in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A member of Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan stands while holding a machine gun at a mountain base in Khalifan near Erbil, Iraq's Kurdistan region, on March 12, 2026.
Members of the Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah attend the funeral of their members, who were killed in an airstrike that targeted a Hashd al‑Shaabi headquarters near the western al‑Qaim district on the Syrian border, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, March 2, 2026.

Are Iranian-backed militias in Iraq really ready to hand over weapons? - analysis

A Kataib Hezbollah spokesperson said he “praised what he described as a decision by ‘[armed] brothers not involved in the Islamic Resistance [of Iraq]’ to end their armed activities."

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A fighter from the Iranian Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) takes part in a training exercise at a base near Erbil, Iraq, in February.

Kurds continue to be under fire even amid ceasefire, fear new deal may not stop Iranian attacks

The new talk of a possible deal that might involve Iran and the US could lead to pressuring Iraq's central government to rein in Iranian-backed militias.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
New Iraqi Prime Minister designate Ali al-Zaidi, uses a phone at his office in Baghdad, Iraq, April 28, 2026.

Kurdistan Region hopes for stability with new Iraq Prime Minister

Iraq’s prime minister is chosen by Shi’ite political parties to reflect the fact that Shi’ites are the largest group in Iraq, while the Kurds receive the presidency. 

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

Iraq says gas supplies from Iran have been halted as Trump's 'maximum pressure' campaign kicks in

The ministry reported that 4,000 to 4,500 megawatts of power have been lost from the electrical system due to the halt in Iranian gas supplies.

DECEMBER 23, 2025ByREUTERS
Cracked brick wall painted with a Iranian flag on the left and a Iraqi flag on the right.

The hit that wasn’t: When Saddam Hussein offered to kill Khomeini and the Shah said no

This decision, made quietly, cautiously, and with the best of intentions, reshaped the fate of a nation and the entire region.

JULY 7, 2025ByALEX WINSTON
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) who became Iran's first Supreme Leader after the Islamic Revolution and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, who offered the Shah of Iran to dispose of the cleric

How Iraqi militias siphoned billions from Visa and Mastercard for Iran - WSJ

US and Iraqi authorities revealed a complex scheme involving prepaid cards that funneled illicit funds to Iranian-backed terror militias.

JUNE 2, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Members of the Iran-backed Iraqi militias al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah appear in Baghdad on December 4, 2023.

Arab League Summit in Baghdad is about a new Arab world - analysis

The reports in Iraq note that the summit seeks to focus on many issues in the region.

MAY 17, 2025BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein welcomes Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani upon arrival at Baghdad International Airport ahead of the 34th Arab League summit, in Baghdad, Iraq, May 17, 2025.

Iraqi president highlights 'historic' ties with Iran during Davos address

Abdul Latif Rashid discussed Iraq-Iran relations and Iraqi sovereignty at Davos.

JANUARY 25, 2025BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Presidential candidate Abdul Latif Rashid attends a parliamentary session to vote for a new head of state president in Baghdad, Iraq, October 13, 2022.

The world has Israel to thank for no nuclear fears in post-Assad Syria- opinion

Thanks to Israel, the now-impending Syrian chaos may be deeply destabilizing, but it will plausibly be nonnuclear.

JANUARY 7, 2025ByLOUIS RENÉ BERES
IN SEPTERMBER 2007, IDF fighter jets carried out Operation Orchard and destroyed a nuclear reactor in Syria. If not for the Israeli operation, nuclear weapons could eventually have fallen into the hands of Sunni jihadi terrorist organizations now beginning to contend for power in post-Assad Syria.

Sirens activated in Jerusalem Hills as IAF intercepts missile form Yemen, drones from Iraq

The IDF confirmed that it had identified a single missile launch from Yemen, which was successfully intercepted with no casualties reported.

NOVEMBER 11, 2024ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
(Illustrative) An Iron Dome anti-missile projectile intercepts a rocket that was fired from Gaza, above the Israeli city of Ashkelon, Israel May 4, 2019.

How will Iran’s proxies in Iraq respond to US election? – analysis

Iranian militias ramp up drone attacks on Israel, await US response post-election.

NOVEMBER 6, 2024BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Iraqi Shiite militia fighters hold the Islamic State flag as they celebrate after breaking the siege of Amerli by Islamic State militants, September 1, 2014.

Iran uses proxy militias in Iraq to pressure the US - analysis

Iran is prodding militias to increase threats to the US in Iraq in order to see if the US will pressure Israel not to strike harder at Hezbollah.

JULY 1, 2024BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
PROTESTERS BURN an Israeli and a US flag in Tehran, earlier this year. The Iranian cyber threat is especially troubling for the Jewish Diaspora, which Iran targets as part of its broader agenda, encapsulated in its chilling slogan: ‘Death to America, Death to Israel,’ says the writer.

Israel-Iran alliance: Jerusalem's arm sales to the Islamic Republic during Iran-Iraq War

Clandestine Israeli sales of military equipment helped turn the tide of the war and prevent Iran from falling to Saddam’s forces.

JUNE 14, 2024ByALEX WINSTON
Snapshots illustrating the relationship between Israel and Iran